By Christine Darg
Jerusalem Channel
The pro-life movement is constantly under attack on multiple fronts. Many modern intellectuals regard having children as getting in the way of their advancement.
Unfortunately, the stance to stop having children has been gaining traction in recent decades. For example, members of the modern “BirthStrike” movement refuse to have children to protest climate change.
I appreciate the traditional rabbis’ approach to marriage and children as being essential to serving God– unlike the erroneous Catholic doctrine that forbids marriage in the priesthood–a position that Rabbi Paul in the New Testament mentioned among “doctrines of demons” in 1 Timothy 4: 1-3.
Ahead of Father’s Day this weekend, I’d like to share some interesting quotes from an Israel Bible commentary by my Orthodox Jewish friend Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz:
“Fatherhood is so important to our understanding of God that having children is a prerequisite for being a member of the High Court (Talmud Sanhedrin 36a). The patriarchs and matriarchs all prayed for children in response to being barren, as did many other significant Biblical characters. In fact, the Midrash (Bereishit Rabba 45:4) teaches us that the matriarchs were barren because ‘God desired their prayers.’
“Despite the daily struggle of caring for children, nothing will bring someone closer to God. Our most intense prayers are for our children. One day last week, as I hugged my teenage son, I realized that I had learned more about God from being his father than I had ever learned in any Bible lesson. I could totally understand God’s undying and unwavering love for Israel.”
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